Sal Vitro - Cirque Du Sleaze
- Written by Marky Edison
Hot on the heels of The Strypes comes the debut release from another Irish old-school rock band. Cirque Du Sleaze is packed with Southern rock swagger and a singer that sounds like Chris Robinson from The Black Crowes.
It takes a lot of guts to sing in an American rock style if you’re in an Irish band. Republic of Loose’s Mick Pyro took some flak for doing so. If you are going to play in a particular style, and draw influence from an established genre, then singing in that style is a necessity. When it works, it’s great. When it doesn’t, it can sound like a bad pub band pastiche. If you are going to do it, then the band need to have the chops to back it up. The Loose certainly have that. Do Sal Vitro?
The opening triptych of Cirque Du Sleaze certainly suggest that they do. The unreconstructed and unabashed hard rock evokes the gut punching groove of Sunset Strip in the late '80s. Sal Vitro could sit comfortably on a bill with early Guns N’ Roses and Skid Row. Many have tried and failed to nail that feeling, but these guys play like they were born wearing denim and leather.
On slower songs like 'For You', where the instruments take a back seat and the tempo drops, the vocal is to the fore. Under the spotlight and stripped of the sleazy riffs, backbeat, and Southern style lead guitar, the lyrics come across as vapid and clichéd. The rockier numbers gloss over the lyrical limitations. You can forgive a lot when your toes are tapping and you are swinging your arse to the groove.
Elsewhere the chain gang harmonies of 'Line 'Em Track', over dirty slide guitar, send shivers down the spine before catching light and segueing into 'Swear By Your Love'. It's easy to see why these guys have built such a live reputation. Sal Vitro sound like a band that would make your Saturday night. You can imagine getting sweaty on the dancefloor in a swathe of dancing bodies to this music.
A debut album should be a manifesto informing the listener of who this band are and where they are going. Sal Vitro achieve that and more with Cirque Du Sleaze. There are some cracking tunes on here, not least the current single ‘It's Not Love’, and a few duds as well. This may not be their Magnum Opus but it’s certainly a good start. If you like your rock dirty, sleazy, and retro, then get your sleeveless denim jacket on, sew on your patches and get yourself down to the Cirque Du Sleaze.